Wine

Roll over: Rich and Intense.

The rating and review of the 2020 Saint Joseph is a composite based on tasting several lots—Chalaix, Dardouilles and Bechasson—from barrel. With aromas that range from violets to rose petals, garrigue and licorice, plus fruit notes from raspberries to blueberries and cassis, it should prove remarkably complex, backed by ample concentration and ripe, silky tannins. 94-96 Robert Parker.com

In an amazing example of vinous lineage, the Chave family has been growing grapes on the hill of Hermitage since 1481. Today the estate is run by Gerard Chave and his son Jean-Louis and they produce some of the regions finest wines including a red & white Hermitage, a St-Joseph and a Côtes du Rhône Mon Coeur. Superb vineyard holdings including prime slices of Bessards, L'Hermite, Peleat and Meal in Hermitage, and incredibly high standards in both the vineyard and cellar, the wines are made in a very hands-off fashion and show great detail, nuance and regional typicity.

Roll over: Leeuwin Estate is one of the five founding wineries in the Margaret River wine region of Western Australia.

The 2020 vintage in Margaret River was moderate to warm and will be forever remembered for the incredibly compacted harvest period, which started two weeks earlier than the 2019 harvest before it and was all wrapped up by Easter—that's largely unheard of. The 2020 Art Series Chardonnay leads with power and density, not unlike the 2018 before it. Tight and green in the glass, you get salted pear, white peach, nectarine, red apple skins, preserved citrus and crushed shell. The wine has minerality and tension within the confines of the opulent fruit. Staggering length, as usual. The winemaking remains relatively consistent across the years: hand-picked fruit from Block 20 and 22 (planted in 1976 and 1978, respectively). Thirty percent of the cuvée was whole bunch pressed to 100% new Burgundian oak, while the balance was destemmed, crushed and pressed to 100% new Bordelais oak. Sulfured post-ferment in order to discourage malolactic fermentation, both components remain in barrel for 11 months. Super wine. Robert Parker.com 98points

Roll over: “The first real red wine to come out of New Zealand” - wine writer Nicholas Faith

Fine "old world" wine of first growth quality from a single vineyard planted in the 1970s at Matakana, Northland, New Zealand. The Antipodean -- "New Zealand's Lafite" -- is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and malbec, with harmony, fragrance, length and seamless integration of character.

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Roll over: "Floral nose, with fruity aromas enhanced by intense mineral notes and developing lightly smoky touches. Very round on the palate, both full-bodied and refined." - William Fevre

The 2021 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses is pure and ethereal, mingling notes of citrus soil, wet stones and white flowers in a youthfully discreet bouquet. Full-bodied, satiny and suave, it's refined and glossy, with racy acids and a saline finish. Robert Parker.com 

Roll over: "Charming bouquet with astonishing fruitiness and a good mineral character. The powerful, strongly constituted palate lacks neither elegance nor roundness." - William Fevre

Roll over: Hailed as "New Zealand's Lafite" by French Count Jean De St Charles

Fine "old world" wine of first growth quality from a single vineyard planted in the 1970s at Matakana, Northland, New Zealand. The Antipodean -- "New Zealand's Lafite" -- is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and malbec, with harmony, fragrance, length and seamless integration of character.

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Roll over: Weingut Egon Müller crafts the most consistently magical Rieslings on the planet.

The 2022 Riesling Scharzhofberger Kabinett has a very open but tender nose: ripe greengage is bright and edged with a whisper of chervil. The sweetness on the palate kicks in first, but lightness takes over with serene lemon freshness and fine, almost earthy stone. Ripe greengage, delineated by lemon, soaks up that initial sugar and presents it as juicy, ripe fruit. Finesse runs through this, dancing on light Kabinett feet. The finish is merely off-dry. Oct 2023 Vinous

Roll over: “The first real red wine to come out of New Zealand” - wine writer Nicholas Faith

Fine "old world" wine of first growth quality from a single vineyard planted in the 1970s at Matakana, Northland, New Zealand. The Antipodean -- "New Zealand's Lafite" -- is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and malbec, with harmony, fragrance, length and seamless integration of character.

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Roll over: Weingut Egon Müller is a renowned wine estate based just outside the village of Wiltingen.

Roll over: From a huge 3.78 ha holding of 40+ year old vines planted in shallow, high clay content soil sitting above a bed of solid limestone

Here the nose is firmly reduced and revealing nothing. Otherwise there is good punch on the lighter weight flavors that possess lovely delineation while displaying focused power on the firm, serious and austere finale. This is an excellent example of 'power without weight' and a wine that should repay up to a decade of keeping. 90-92 pts Burghound

Roll over: Fresh, succulent stonefruit with a citrus backbone.

Chave's 2019 Hermitage Blanc delivers just the merest hint of toasted grain on the nose, accenting green peaches and waves of honeyed richness. It's full-bodied and concentrated but not overdone, with tremendous length and a hint of bitterness on the finish that left me wondering if this wine will need 20 years to show its best, or if it was still suffering a bit from being bottled in July 2021. RP95 Robert Parker.com

In an amazing example of vinous lineage, the Chave family has been growing grapes on the hill of Hermitage since 1481. Today the estate is run by Gerard Chave and his son Jean-Louis and they produce some of the regions finest wines including a red & white Hermitage, a St-Joseph and a Côtes du Rhône Mon Coeur. Superb vineyard holdings including prime slices of Bessards, L'Hermite, Peleat and Meal in Hermitage, and incredibly high standards in both the vineyard and cellar, the wines are made in a very hands-off fashion and show great detail, nuance and regional typicity.

Roll over: Fresh, succulent stonefruit with a citrus backbone.

I tasted five different lots that will be blended into the 2020 Hermitage Blanc, from Péléat, l'Ermite and three parts of Les Rocoules. Full-bodied, honeyed and rich, this should be another outstanding vintage for Chave's white, with the incredible lushness of the bigger wines balanced by the zestiness found at the top of Les Rocoules and the delicacy and freshness of L'Ermite. RP96-98 Robert Parker.com

In an amazing example of vinous lineage, the Chave family has been growing grapes on the hill of Hermitage since 1481. Today the estate is run by Gerard Chave and his son Jean-Louis and they produce some of the regions finest wines including a red & white Hermitage, a St-Joseph and a Côtes du Rhône Mon Coeur. Superb vineyard holdings including prime slices of Bessards, L'Hermite, Peleat and Meal in Hermitage, and incredibly high standards in both the vineyard and cellar, the wines are made in a very hands-off fashion and show great detail, nuance and regional typicity.

Roll over: Bold and structured.

The refined 2021 L'Hermitage was cropped at 37 hL/ha and bottled in early September 2023. It is laced with finely delineated orange rind, raspberry, red cherry, red plum, dried herbs, pencil shavings, black cherry, crushed violet and cedar. Showing excellent tension on the medium-bodied palate, the 2021 brings it home with clarity and freshness. That being said, it won’t be as long lived as either the 2020 or 2022. 94 pts Nicolas Greinacher - Vinous

Roll over: Fresh, succulent stonefruit with a citrus backbone.

Vinified from grapes that were harvested as late as the 26th of September, the 2021 L'Hermitage Blanc was cropped at 38 hL/ha, above the levels of 2022. It dazzles with vivid spring blossom, honeysuckle, lemon peel, white peach, quince, apricot and discrete cedar aromas. Medium-bodied and immaculately balanced by bright acidity, this is an athletic L'Hermitage Blanc with marked freshness and energy. A saline aftertaste wraps up the sapid finish. Outstanding. 96 pts Nicolas Greinacher – Vinous

Roll over: Domaine des Comtes Lafon is a wine producer in Burgundy making some of the most lauded (and highly priced) white wines from Chardonnay in the region. It is located in Meursault in the Côte de Beaune subregion

“A cool, pure and wonderfully elegant if distinctly restrained nose reluctantly presents its aromas of citrus, floral and spiced apple. On the palate this is almost a blend of the Genevrières and Perrières as there is some of each attribute on the middleweight flavors including minerality, intensity and focused power on the refined, balanced and highly complex finale. This is excellent and should age accordingly.”

93-95 pts – Outstanding - Burghound

Roll over: Weingut Egon Müller crafts the most consistently magical Rieslings on the planet.

A cornucopia of ripe summer fruits and flowers pour from the glass of this spectacular Saar Auslese; it’s difficult to tear yourself away from the nose. Serious concentration on the medium- to full-bodied palate but in a self-confidently relaxed manner. No drama, much less pomposity. Instead, ever more compelling as it flows over the palate. Fabulous textural complexity at the finely nuanced finish. Decades of ageing potential! 98 points James Suckling.com